Skill mismatch and work–life conflict: the mediating role of job satisfaction

Previous research examining skill mismatch in the labour market has ignored potential implications for workers outside of the work environment. We argue that the psychological strain that the discrepancy between worker’s skills and job requirements wields on workers spills over into the non-work sphere, increasing work–life conflict. This study explores the consequence of skill mismatch for work–family life and various dimensions of job satisfaction. Using the 2011 British Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS), we find that both over- and underskilled workers reported lower satisfaction with achievement and autonomy, opportunity for development, and pay and security. Results also suggest that not only does skill mismatch have a negative influence on work–life conflict but that this association is completely mediated through job satisfaction. Given this better understanding of the complex ways that skill mismatch in employment shapes non-work life, implications for employees and firms are discussed.     

The contribution of epistemology to curriculum construction in the sciences

Summary The paper focuses upon curriculum planning in the scientific disciplines at university level, although it is claimed the argument may be of wider applicability. Drawing upon the writings of philosophers of education from several decades ago (notably Schwab and Scheffler) whose work is too often overlooked in contemporary debates about the curriculum, and using illustrative examples from the author’s own experience, it is argued that too often the focus of science curriculum planning is the “rhetoric of conclusions” or the “substantive structure” — the current state of knowledge at the forefront of the respective disciplines — to the neglect of what Schwab called the “syntactical structure” of the sciences (which roughly approximates their epistemology). This aspect of these disciplines is essential for the general student trying to become familiar with the nature of science as a broad field of knowledge, for prospective teachers, and — contra Scheffler’s view — for students who aim at careers as researchers.

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Zusammenfassung Der Beitrag der Epistemologie zur Curriuculumkonstruktion in den Naturwissenschaften Der Aufsatz fokussiert auf die Curriculumplanung für den naturwissenschaftlichen Unterricht in der universit?ren Lehrerausbildung, wenngleich behauptet wird, dass dieses Argument weitreichendere Anwendbarkeit besitzt. Der Text knüpft an erziehungswissenschaftlichen Schriften (insbesondere von Schwab und Scheffler) an, deren Ver?ffentlichung zwar einige Dekaden zurückliegt, deren Beitrag in den aktuellen Debatten aber oft übersehen wird. Darüber hinaus werden einige illustrative Beispiele aus dem Erfahrungsschatz des Autors genutzt, um zu zeigen, dass der Fokus der Curriculumplanung für die Naturwissenschaften — dem augenblicklichen Wissensstand der zu berücksichtigenden Disziplinen zufolge — zu oft in einer „Rhetorik der Schlussfolgerung“ oder „substantivischen Struktur“ besteht, was dazu führt, dass das, was Schwab die „syntaktische Struktur“ der Naturwissenschaften nennt (und ihrer Epistemologie ziemlich nahe kommt), vernachl?ssigt wird. Dieser Aspekt jener Disziplinen ist besonders wichtig für Studierende, die allgemeinbildend vertraut werden m?chten mit den Naturwissenschaften, für angehende Lehrer und — entgegen Schefflers Ansicht — für Studenten, die eine Karriere als Forscher anstreben.

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“When walking in quicksand country, carry a stout pole — it will help you get out should you need to. As soon as you start to sink, lay the pole on the surface of the quicksand. Flop onto your back on top of the pole. Work the pole to a new position: under your hips and at right angles to your spine. Take the shortest route to firmer ground, moving slowly.” Piven/Borgenicht 1999, p. 18

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This paper was presented at the conference Silence Between the Disciplines, Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, Berlin, October 2002.     

Scientific Collaboration with Educators: Practical Insights from an in‐Class Noise‐Reduction Intervention

Moving the field of Mind, Brain, and Education forward requires researchers and educators to reframe the boundaries of their own discipline in order to create knowledge that is both scientifically based, and of practical relevance for education. We believe that this could be done by co‐constructing research projects from the start. We present a case study of a noise‐reduction intervention in elementary classrooms, in which teachers and researchers worked together from the onset of study design. We examine the processes behind: (1) selecting research questions and measures, (2) planning interventions, (3) receiving ethical approval and funding, (4) recruiting schools, and (5) collecting data. At each step, our study provides suggestions for future collaborative efforts, keeping in mind broader theoretical and methodological implications. We believe that our concrete examples and suggestions will be useful for beginning and confirmed researchers, as well as teachers aiming to know more about research projects.     

Parameters in television captioning for deaf and hard-of-hearing adults: effects of caption rate versus text reduction on comprehension

Caption rate and text reduction are factors that appear to affect the comprehension of captions by people who are deaf or hard of hearing. These 2 factors are confounded in everyday captioning; rate (in words per minute) is slowed by text reduction. In this study, caption rate and text reduction were manipulated independently in 2 experiments to assess any differential effects and possible benefits for comprehension by deaf and hard-of-hearing adults. Volunteers for the study included adults with a range of reading levels, self-reported hearing status, and different communication and language preferences. Results indicate that caption rate (at 130, 180, 230 words per minute) and text reduction (at 84%, 92%, and 100% original text) have different effects for different adult users, depending on hearing status, age, and reading level. In particular, reading level emerges as a dominant factor: more proficient readers show better comprehension than poor readers and are better able to benefit from caption rate and, to some extent, text reduction modifications.     

The semantic effects of consulting a textual database on rewriting

Children 8-10-years old were asked to write a story and then to improve it using resource texts. A first group accessed the resource texts through a computer database, a second group read the texts on paper and no texts were given to a third group. Regardless of their reading abilities, the children using computers produced more propositions during rewriting and, in particular, more macrostructural propositions. Inventions inspired by the resource texts outnumbered borrowings, particularly in the computer-assisted group. Our interpretation stresses the effect of the database learning environment on the reprocessing of mental models involved in generating first drafts.     

Adaptation of the Students' Motivation Towards Science Learning (SMTSL) questionnaire in the Greek language

The present study aimed at adapting in the Greek language the Students' Motivation Towards Science Learning (SMTSL) questionnaire developed by Tuan, Chin, and Shieh (INT J SCI EDUC 27(6): 639-654, 2005a) into a different cultural context, a different age group, that is, in university students and with a focus on physics learning. Three hundred and fifty Greek student teachers participated in the study. The original instrument consisted of 35 items allocated in six scales: self-efficacy, use of active learning strategies, science learning value, performance goals, achievement goals, and learning environment stimulation. The instrument's internal consistency was acceptable and comparable to previous studies' reports. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied on the data in order to test an a priori hypothesis regarding the SMTSL's factorial structure based on previous studies' findings. The results of the study showed that the six-factor conceptual model of students' motivation proposed by the SMTSL applies in this different cultural setting and in this group of university students with reference to physics learning. Along with the six distinct motivational constructs confirmed, students' motivational beliefs were also explained by a general motivational construct assumed to be at their basis. Suggestions for further improvement of the Greek version of the SMTSL are also discussed.     

Depression and Anxiety in the Postnatal Period: An Examination of Infants’ Home Language Environment,Vocalizations, and Expressive Language Abilities

This longitudinal study investigated the effects of maternal emotional health concerns, on infants’ home language environment, vocalization quantity, and expressive language skills. Mothers and their infants (at 6 and 12 months; 21 mothers with depression and or anxiety and 21 controls) provided day-long home-language recordings. Compared with controls, risk group recordings contained fewer mother–infant conversational turns and infant vocalizations, but daily number of adult word counts showed no group difference. Furthermore, conversational turns and infant vocalizations were stronger predictors of infants’ 18-month vocabulary size than depression and anxiety measures. However, anxiety levels moderated the effect of conversational turns on vocabulary size. These results suggest that variability in mothers’ emotional health influences infants’ language environment and later language ability.     

What makes a skilled writer? Working memory and audience awareness during text composition

This study investigated the role of working memory capacity as a factor for individual differences in the ability to compose a text with communicative efficiency based on audience awareness. We analyzed its differential effects on the dynamics of the writing processes, as well as on the content of the finished product. Twenty-five graduate students composed a procedural text explaining how to assemble a model turbine. They were free to consult a documentary source, featuring captioned pictures of turbine parts and assembly steps, at any time. Graphomotor and eye movements were recorded using ‘Eye and Pen’ software with an eye-tracker and digitizing tablet. Results showed that high WM capacity writers used a different strategy to explore the visual source, making longer writing pauses and producing more detailed procedures, and achieved the communicative goal more efficiently, by introducing more reader supports. In conclusion, we discuss the feasibility of audience awareness training.     

Energy cost of different skating techniques in cross-country skiing

The aims of this study were to compare the aerobic energy cost of four 'on-snow' skating techniques in cross-country skiing and to examine the relationships between performance and aerobic energy cost. Twelve male skiers from recreational to national standard performed four level skating trials of 6 min duration in random order, each at the same submaximal velocity but with a different skating technique: (1) 'offset' (V1), using a double asymmetrical and asynchronous pole plant as weight is transferred to one ski; (2) 'two-skate' (V2A), where the pole plant is symmetrical; (3) 'one-skate' (V2), where there is a pole plant as weight is transferred to each ski; and (4) 'conventional', without poles. Oxygen uptake (VO2), pulmonary ventilation, the respiratory exchange ratio and heart rate were measured using a K4(b2) portable gas analyser. The aerobic energy cost (VO2/mean speed) and heart rate were higher (P < 0.05) in the one-skate than in the offset condition. This may be explained by the greater and more efficient use of the upper body and the lower variation in centre of gravity velocity in the offset condition. The aerobic energy cost was 5-9% higher (P < 0.01) in the conventional than in the other techniques, probably because of the shorter duration of propulsive forces within a cycle in the conventional skating condition. Moreover, in ski skating, the mechanical efficiency (propulsive forces/total forces) was shown to be higher in the upper than in the lower limbs. The correlation coefficient between performance and aerobic energy cost was significant in the two-skate (r = 0.68, P = 0.02), one-skate (r = 0.72, P = 0.01) and conventional (r = 0.62, P = 0.04) conditions, but not in the offset condition (r = 0.50, P = 0.10). Our results stress the importance of the upper body component in cross-country skiing and that the aerobic energy cost discriminates between skiers of different standards.     

Using web design with pre‐service teachers as a means of creating a collaborative learning environment

This study involves a group of over 300 third‐year Bachelor of Education students attending St Patrick’s College of Education, Dublin, Ireland. Working in groups of not more than three, the students completed an assignment to create a WebQuest. On construction of the WebQuest the students were asked to reflect on the experience, considering issues such as collaboration, cooperation, planning, decision‐making, time management, project direction and design. They were also asked to reflect on the impact of the exercise on their own learning styles and its influence on their concepts of teaching and learning. Finally, they were asked if the exercise had affected their ideas of how to use the Internet in school and if they envisage using WebQuests as part of their teaching in the future. Their reflections were facilitated by a questionnaire. Results of the project have implications for future course design.

Die Erstellung eines Webdesigns durch Lehramtsstudenten als Mittel, eine kollaborative Lernumgebung zu erzeugen

Diese Studie umfasst eine Gruppe von mehr als 300 Lehrerstudenten des St. Patrick’s College of Education in Dublin, Irland. In Gruppen von nicht mehr als drei Personen füllten die Studenten einen Zusatz zur Erzeugung eines Webfragebogens aus. Im Verlauf der Arbeit an der Konstruktion des WebQuest wurden sie aufgefordert, über die Erfahrung mit Dingen wie Zusammenarbeit, Kooperation, Planung, Entscheidungsfindung, Zeitmanagement, Projektziel und Konzeption nachzudenken. Zusätzlich wurden sie angehalten, über den Einfluss dieser Übung auf ihren eigenen Lehrstil und auf ihre Konzepte von Lehren und Lernen zu reflektieren. Schließlich wurden sie befragt, ob diese Übung ihre Einschätzung, wie das Internet im Schulunterricht genutzt werden könne und ob sie sich vorstellen könnten, WebQuests im Rahmen ihres zukünftigen Unterrichts einzusetzen. Ihre Reflexionen wurden durch einen Fragebogen unterstützt. Die Ergebnisse des Projekts haben Auswirkungen auf zukünftige Lehrgangsentwürfe.

Comment utiliser la conception de sites Web avec des enseignants en formation initiale pour créer un environnement d’apprentissage collaboratif

Cette étude porte sur un groupe de plus de 300 étudiants de Licence en Education inscrits à l’Institut St Patrick de formation des Maîtres de Dublin. Travaillant en groupes de trois au maximum, ces étudiants ont mené à bien un projet de création d’un WebQuest.Au moment de la construction de ce WebQuest, on a demandé aux étudiants de réfléchir sur l’expérience en cours et sur les problèmes de collaboration, de coopération, de planification, de prise de décision,de gestion du temps,d’ orientation et de conception du projet. On leur a aussi demandé de réfléchir à l’impact de cet exercice sur leurs propres styles d’apprentissage et à son influence sur la façon dont ils envisageaient l’enseignement et l’apprentissage.On les a finalement interrogés pour savoir si cet exercice avait affecté leur façon de penser aux usages de l’Internet à l’école et si ils (elles) envisageaient d’utiliser WebQuest dans leur enseignement à l’avenir. Un questionnaire a facilité la réponse à ces questions. Les résultats de ce projet auront des conséquences pour la conception des cours à venir.